Terms Used In California Codes > Corporations Code > Title 1 > Division 3 > Part 3 > Chapter 1 - General Provisions and Definitions

• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appointive property: means the property or interest in property that is the subject of the power of appointment. See California Probate Code 610
• Appraisal: A determination of property value.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Association: means any corporation organized under this part. See California Corporations Code 13202
• at-death transfer: means a transfer that is revocable during the lifetime of the transferor, but does not include a joint tenancy or joint account with right of survivorship. See California Probate Code 21104
• Beneficiary: means a person to whom a donative transfer of property is made or that person's successor in interest, and:

  California Probate Code 24

• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Child: means any individual entitled to take as a child under this code by intestate succession from the parent whose relationship is involved. See California Probate Code 26
• City: includes "city and county" and "incorporated town. See California Streets and Highways Code 15
• commission: means the California Transportation Commission. See California Streets and Highways Code 22
• Common disaster: A sudden and extraordinary misfortune that brings about the simultaneous or near-simultaneous deaths of two or more associated persons, such as husband and wife.
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Community property: means :

  California Probate Code 28

• Conservatee: includes a limited conservatee. See California Probate Code 29
• Conservator: includes a limited conservator. See California Probate Code 30
• Construction: includes :

  California Streets and Highways Code 29

• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• County: includes "city and county. See California Streets and Highways Code 14
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Decedent: A deceased person.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Department: means the Department of Transportation of this state. See California Streets and Highways Code 20
• Devise: when used as a noun, means a disposition of real or personal property by will, and, when used as a verb, means to dispose of real or personal property by will. See California Probate Code 32
• Devise: To gift property by will.
• Domestic partner: means one of two persons who have filed a Declaration of Domestic Partnership with the Secretary of State pursuant to Division 2. See California Probate Code 37
• Estate: as used in this part shall include a decedent's probate estate and all property held in any revocable trust that becomes irrevocable on the death of the decedent. See California Probate Code 21601
• Fiduciary: means personal representative, trustee, guardian, conservator, attorney-in-fact under a power of attorney, custodian under the California Uniform Transfer To Minors Act (Part 9 (commencing with Section 3900) of Division 4), or other legal representative subject to this code. See California Probate Code 39
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Fishery products: includes fish, crustaceans, mollusks, and marine products for human consumption. See California Corporations Code 13202
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Gift: A voluntary transfer or conveyance of property without consideration, or for less than full and adequate consideration based on fair market value.
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Heir: means any person, including the surviving spouse, who is entitled to take property of the decedent by intestate succession under this code. See California Probate Code 44
• highway: includes bridges, culverts, curbs, drains, and all works incidental to highway construction, improvement, and maintenance. See California Streets and Highways Code 23
• Instrument: means a will, a document establishing or modifying a trust, a deed, or any other writing that designates a beneficiary or makes a donative transfer of property. See California Probate Code 45
• interested person: includes any of the following:

  California Probate Code 48

• Internal Revenue Code: means the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time. See California Probate Code 21500
• Joint resolution: A legislative measure which requires the approval of both chambers.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• maintenance: includes any of the following:

  California Streets and Highways Code 27

• Marital deduction: means the federal estate tax deduction allowed for transfers under Section 2056 of the Internal Revenue Code or the federal gift tax deduction allowed for transfers under Section 2523 of the Internal Revenue Code. See California Probate Code 21520
• Marital deduction: The deduction(s) that can be taken in the determination of gift and estate tax liabilities because of the existence of a marriage or marital relationship.
• Marital deduction gift: means a transfer of property that is intended to qualify for the marital deduction. See California Probate Code 21520
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Parent: means any individual entitled to take as a parent under this code by intestate succession from the child whose relationship is involved. See California Probate Code 54
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means an individual, corporation, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, limited liability company, association, or other entity. See California Probate Code 56
• Person: means any person, firm, partnership, association, corporation, organization, limited liability company, or business trust. See California Streets and Highways Code 19
• Personal representative: means executor, administrator, administrator with the will annexed, special administrator, successor personal representative, public administrator acting pursuant to Section 7660, or a person who performs substantially the same function under the law of another jurisdiction governing the person's status. See California Probate Code 58
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Power of appointment: means a power that enables a powerholder acting in a nonfiduciary capacity to designate a recipient of an ownership interest in or another power of appointment over the appointive property. See California Probate Code 610
• Power of attorney: A written instrument which authorizes one person to act as another's agent or attorney. The power of attorney may be for a definite, specific act, or it may be general in nature. The terms of the written power of attorney may specify when it will expire. If not, the power of attorney usually expires when the person granting it dies. ^{Source: OCC}
• Powerholder: means the person to whom a power of appointment is given or in whose favor a power of appointment is reserved. See California Probate Code 610
• Predeceased spouse: means a person who died before the decedent while married to the decedent, except that the term does not include any of the following:

  California Probate Code 59

• Probate: Proving a will
• Property: means anything that may be the subject of ownership and includes both real and personal property and any interest therein. See California Probate Code 62
• Quasi-community property: means the following property, other than community property as defined in Section 28:

  California Probate Code 66

• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Revocable trust: A trust agreement that can be canceled, rescinded, revoked, or repealed by the grantor (person who establishes the trust).
• Spouse: includes domestic partner, as defined in Section 37 of this code, as required by §. See California Probate Code 72
• State: includes any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and any territory or possession subject to the legislative authority of the United States. See California Probate Code 74
• State: means the State of California, unless applied to the different parts of the United States. See California Education Code 77
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Transferee: means the beneficiary, donee, or other recipient of an interest transferred by an instrument. See California Probate Code 81.5
• Transferor: means the testator, settlor, grantor, owner, or other person who executes an instrument. See California Probate Code 81
• Trust: includes the following:

  California Probate Code 82

• Trustee: includes an original, additional, or successor trustee, whether or not appointed or confirmed by a court. See California Probate Code 84
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Will: includes codicil and any testamentary instrument which merely appoints an executor or revokes or revises another will. See California Probate Code 88
• Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.